Elf
There are 3 different races of Elf in Warcraft. Elves were once believed to be the first race to awaken on Azeroth, however, some ancient histories suggest that Elves were originally Trolls who discovered the Well of Eternity, and were transformed by its powers. There are also other creatures who are branches of the Night Elf line: Naga and Satyr. * See night elf * See high elf * See blood elf * See also Troll * See also Naga * See also Satyr * See also Troll/Elf Lineage * See also Dark Ranger Trivial Information The Elves of Warcraft are likely inspired by the elves of Tolkien's writings, who were known as the Eldar or the Quendi. In Warcraft, like in JRRT's works, the elves are one of the oldest races, and became divided into subraces over time. In Tolkien's works, the first race to split were the Avari (the unwilling), who feared the messenger Oromë and his invitation and fled into shadow, with some being twisted by Morgoth into the race of Orcs, a transformation that is paralleled in Warcraft with the Trolls (although some believe in a reverse evolution of Warcraft elves from trolls). The second split race of the elves were the Moriquendi, the dark elves, who despite their name were not sinister beings but merely did not undertake the final journey from Middle Earth to the blessed realm of Valinor and thus never saw the true light of the trees Telperion and Laurelin. The Moriquendi lacked the enlightenment of the blessed realm, but were sociable. Many of the largest subgroup, the Sindar, dealt closely with the newly risen race of Dwarves, and eventually with the few of the race of men they deemed worthy of respect, while the silvans and others lived in more distant and isolated regions. The third split in the race of elves occured in Valinor. Three sects of elves existed in the blessed realm: the Vanyar, the Teleri, and Noldor. All three sects were collectively refered to as the Calaquendi. The Noldor above all the others were the proudest and in a way most like men. They were passionate beings and were driven to wrath by Morgoth, forsaking the Valar's invitation to bring battle to the great enemy, and slaying many of their Teleri kin in the process. The Noldor would assimiliate into the races of elves in Middle Earth, and for a time would fight alongside dwarves and men. In Warcraft, the Night Elves take after Sindar; they live in close harmony with the world, drawing strength from the more primal forces of the Earth and mourning the destruction wrought by the other races, but not seeking magic or godly powers. The High Elves and Blood Elves take after the Noldor in their thirst for knowledge and power. The Warcraft Highborne discovered magic and inadvertently attracted the Burning Legion, a battle that roughly translates to the wars of the first age between the Valar and Melkor (Morgoth) over the fate of the elves. Then, the Highborne tampered again with magic, and were sent forth in exile, much as the Noldor were exiled after the kinslaying. They fell in with the humans and fought in the the Second War for Azeroth, much as the Noldor joined in the fight for Middle Earth. Language Elven is also a unique dialect derived from original Daranassian tongue. The only known examples of its use is by Half-Elfs. Category:Lore Category:Creatures Category:Humanoids Category:Elves